Humans and Chimpanzees Share 98.5 percent DNA, So Eat Them?
We are members of the Orlando Science Center and today we went there to see two new things. One was
a Curious George exhibit. The other was to watch the Jane Goodall chimpanzee movie in the Cinedome.
The movie was great! The kids loved it and laughed so much. It is so neat to watch the chimpanzees and I have much respect for Dr. Jane Goodall.
In the movie they discussed how chimpanzees and humans have a 98.5 percent similarity in DNA. And they didn't need to tell us that in order for us to see it. This is quite obvious in just watching how they act and in their mannerisms, as they are very much like our own species.
Near the end of the movie they tell of how humans have destroyed around 90 percent of the chimp population, mainly due to eating them. They also showed a couple of baby chimps who were in a sanctuary that has been rescued from a meat market, where they were on display right next to their butchered mothers.
That's where I started crying. Yes, my husband did confirm that I was the only one in the theater crying. But my heart really went out to them (as it does all animals).
So let me get this straight - humans will even eat another species where only 1.5% of the DNA is different (I knew people did this before going in there, by the way)? It makes me wonder if cannibalism were legal if people would be taking part in droves. After all, is that 1.5% really so important that it keeps people from cannibalism? It's 1.5%!
I think people don't think about it that way. People tend to see the universe in a solipsistic, selfish way. "It's delicious, and that's all that matters!" Since I became vegan, I've been horrified at how often I'll be providing people with hard facts about how meat production is one of the worst things for our environment, and how it's a huge contributor to the degradation of our planet, and what the implications of this will be, and their reply is "yeah, but I can't live without big macs." it's upsetting. I definitely agree that people would eat other people if it was more socially acceptable and legal.
ugh what a depressing topic...
the great thing is that despite social influence and the way we grew up, a lot of people are able to come to their own conclusion that eating meat is wrong in so many ways.
I enjoyed this post a lot, and had no idea people ate chimps. Might that have anything to do with why AIDS transferred to human beings?
so ironic how we're killing ourselves.
-Amanda
http://www.vegancents.com
Posted by: Amanda | 03/20/2011 at 12:44 AM
Hi Amanda,
I totally agree with you! Thank you for your comments.
Jacqueline
Posted by: Jacqueline | 03/20/2011 at 07:46 PM